Saugus School Committee accepts money-saving plan

SAUGUS – A plan guaranteed to save the school department $60,000 was unanimously passed Thursday by the Saugus School Committee, despite remaining skepticism by one board member.According to Chairman Wendy Reed, the high school project is already underway, beginning with the installation of energy-efficient lights. To continue on with the project, the town requested $63,000 from the school department?s utility budget. The $63,000 and more is said to be paid back when the repairs allow for well over $60,000 in savings. Reed said these savings would be immediate.?To me, it?s a no-brainer,” said Reed, after noting that the cost to install just the energy-efficient lights will be paid back within a year from the lower energy costs.With the rest of the board in agreement with Reed, board member Arthur Grabowski held on to his concerns about the plan, fearing serious consequences for Saugus if the money is not replaced.?I?m skeptical,” said Grabowski after board member Vincent Serino re-confirmed that potentially up to $80,000 could be saved from the plan.The board eventually agreed that, given the current state of the high school, even the smallest repairs could save money, and it passed the plan.As well as passing the plan, the board held an “All Day Kindergarten Lottery” set up by Laurie Gallivan, the director of curriculum instruction and accountability.According to Gallivan, half-day kindergarten is provided for all families, but only a few slots for full-day kindergarten are available each year. Gallivan said full-day is very beneficial to children and that slots are usually assigned on a first-come, first-serve application process. This year only 10 slots are available with 23 families qualified for them.To fairly distribute the slots, Gallivan had each of the executive board members pull two numbers from a hat. The numbers symbolized a corresponding family who will be granted the full-day kindergarten.Gallivan said the families should be notified of their slot approval in a few weeks.Samara DiMouro may be reached at [email protected].